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Blue Lagoon Day Trip

My wife and I along with our two adult daughters and two teenage granddaughters will be visiting Iceland in mid-September. We would like to take a day trip from our hotel in Reykjavik to the Blue Lagoon with a return to our hotel at the end of the day. I see that we may choose among four packages offered at the Blue Lagoon website but none of these options include transportation to and from the lagoon as far as I can tell. I've taken a look at a few of the day tours offered by independent travel companies and they seem ok and they do have the advantage of providing transportation as part of the deal. I'm looking for some advice on this from those of you familiar with Blue Lagoon excursions. Is it best to book a package directly from the Blue Lagoon website and arrange for transportation as a separate matter or should I book a transportation-inclusive package from one of the independents and be done with it? For those of you recommending an independent I would welcome your heads-up as to which one you prefer. Thanks

You can take a local bus to and from the Blue Lagoon without spending a fortune. But why would you? Reykyavik has at least a dozen or so fabulous hot springs/spas that you can visit for about 5 euros apiece instead of the exorbitant fees for the Blue Lagoon. As far as I'm concerned, the whole Blue Lagoon experience ranks right up there with Las Vegas or other overpriced tourist traps. Iceland has a plethora of natural spas and lagoons. You really don't need to shell out big bucks to go to the one that screams tourist trap.The others are also full of locals, which is, well, a nice way to integrate into the local community instead of visiting a place that just draws foreigners.

I've been to the Blue Lagoon as part of a package that included transportation and have driven myself. I'd make the choice based entirely on cost. The only other factor is that taking a bus as part of a group will pin you down to leaving the Blue Lagoon at a specific time and you may prefer to leave when you want. It's a neat place to visit and one I enjoy. Sure, it draws a lot of tourists but I don't strike destinations from my itinerary based on that. Heck, I live near DC- if I avoided touristy places, I'd never go out! It's fun to visit local hot springs and spas as well just to enjoy a wide range of experiences. Have fun!